Wanted
by Parsley
Summary: In the early hours of the morning, there is nothing more worrisome than to hear someone pounding on your door. Reno/Rude friendship.


Rude stared at the dim lightshow on his wall reflected from the flickering streetlight outside. It displayed a dull, yellow-tinted enjoyment on his dark, cracked apartment wall. The low buzzing sound from the streetlight, however, annoyed the Turk. It had been a rough day at work and he was absolutely exhausted. To make matters worse, he could not sleep. Rude arched his back and buried himself deeper into his covers. His weary eyes squinted at the glaring red numbers on his alarm clock on his bedside. It was 2:54 am. Rude blinked with annoyance and focused on a small water stain near his ceiling, attempting to clear his crowded mind.

Before he could, two quick and desperate pounding sounds echoed through the small apartment like thunder. Rude would have liked to claim it was thunder, but unfortunately, it was dry and still outside. The Turk automatically reacted with a started twitch. He rose slowly and stared down his ill-lit apartment hallway. Seeing nothing but darkness, Rude sunk back into his mattress. The pounding noises were simply someone knocking at his door. His need for sleep was greater than whoever was knocking on his door. It was probably some crazy old drunk looking for more liquor. Rude sighed and tried to relax his muscles. He kept his ears peeled for any sign of danger, just in case.

There was a furious series of knocks at his door, the time between them getting shorter and the knocks themselves more desperate. Rude fumbled out of his bed and solemnly looked out the bleak window._ Gaia, what do they want?_ he thought bitterly. Whoever was disturbing his much needed sleep at this hour was going to get beaten to a pulp when he found the energy to do so the next day. Rude grumbled and stared tiredly through the black hallway. The knocking continued. Rude sneered in dismay and stumbled through the hallway toward his locked door. He conveniently had found a gun sitting on his kitchen counter on the way to the door and picked it up, not caring to if it was loaded or not. He could always use it to scare the drunk away.

The grumpy man sighed and flung his door open, raising the gun for an obvious sign of get-the-hell-out-of-my-apartment. He hoped that his bitterness of the situation wouldn't been too hard to interpret.

"About time, yo," a nonchalant reply came from the slim figure who had been knocking on Rude's door as if it were an apocalypse.

Rude resisted the urge to shoot his red-headed partner on the spot. His face reddened with agitation. Reno obviously didn't give a damn that there was a gun inches away from his face, so Rude lowered it. He assessed the lanky man bitterly in an attempt to figure out what he was doing there at this hour. Reno had dark circles under his eyes and no longer radiated with obnoxious energy as he usually did. It probably had something to do with it being _three o'clock in the goddamn morning_. The corner of Rude's mouth twitched. "What the_ hell_ are you doing here, Reno? Do you know what time it is?"

Reno puckered his full lips in contemplation. "Yeah, 'gotta say – it _is_ pretty early..." The Turk stared into Rude's apartment with sagging, tired eyes.

"Damn straight," Rude growled. As much as he enjoyed having his easy-go-lucky, lazy, smug partner around, now was not the time. Rude raised his brow and a wave of irksome fatigue washed over him. "What do you want?" he asked quickly. He began to close his door when he didn't get an immediate reply. Sleep was waiting and time had not stopped.

"Wait, yo!" Reno stammered desperately, blocking the closing door with his body and resting a hand on the frame. Rude glared at his partner. _He better have a pretty good reason for being here_, Rude thought. His eyes drifted to Reno's hand, which was heavily bandaged. Rude hid a cringe of guilt, worrying that the idiot had gotten himself into a fight or something. "Can I explain this all t'morrow? You understand right, yo? I jus' need a place to crash t'night and I really didn't know where to go to."

Reno looked pitiful. Rude sighed and decided that it was in his best interest not to argue with the red-head. Besides, he was helping a friend out. "Fine," he said calmly. "But you better have a pretty good excuse for this." Rude clenched his fist with irritation. He didn't mean to lash out at his disoriented-looking friend so many times - he was simply beyond the point of exhaustion. Also, Rude knew very that he would have let his friend stay either way. He wondered if Reno had also know this and used it to his advantage.

A relieved expression spread across Reno's face, blending in with one of sheer exhaustion and stress. He more or less fell into Rude's apartment when Rude opened the door a little more for him. "Thanks, partner," he mumbled tiredly. Reno smiled. "I really owe 'ya one." Rude grunted and stared at the red-head. Curiosity and concern were biting into his thoughts. _What happened, Reno? _he thought, worried.

"You can sleep on the couch over there," Rude said, gesturing towards his small living room. Reno bolted over to the couch much like an abused kitten and sat on it before Rude could finish. The moment he collapsed into the cushions his eyes went dull. Reno rested his head back with a nervous exhalation and relaxed his porcelain face. Rude blinked at him tiredly. "I'll go find a blanket," he said awkwardly.

Rude wandered to his hallway closet and found an extra blanket on the messy top self. It was a bit warm - the one he normally used for winter – but Reno could handle it. Before making his way back to his sleepy comrad, Rude grabbed an untouched pack of cigarettes out of a lonesome drawer in his kitchen, figuring that they would be much appreciated in Reno's possession. He found Reno sprawled out on the couch now, staring at him. "Here," Rude said, handing Reno the blanket and the cigarettes he would never use.

Reno wrapped himself in the blanket and stared at the unopened package of cigarettes with interest. He looked up at Rude in confusion. "Why smokes?"

Rude shrugged. "I'm not going to use them and it'll keep you quiet."

"Don't have a lighter," Reno grimaced. He gave Rude a short side-glance, avoiding his eyes.

Rude stared at his partner in disbelief. He knew now that there was _definitely_ something wrong. Reno not having a lighter was like Rude not wearing any clothes in public. Dumbfounded, Rude narrowed his eyes and gaped at the exhausted Reno. Sucking up his own exhaustion, Rude slunk over to his partner and sat down by his feet. "Can you please tell me what happened?"

Reno's head rose and his eyes glossed over Rude. "T'morrow please," he groaned.

"I won't be able to sleep from the curiosity. Then I'll be pissed." Rude frowned.

"Hmm," Reno contorted hazily. He sat up, gingerly removing the blanket with his injured hand. Rude watched him carefully and waited for him to speak. "Actually," Reno stated tiredly, falling back down into the warmth of the couch. "I bet'cha it'll make t'morrow's news." His mouth twitched into a weak, sheepish smirk before quickly relaxing once more.

Rude flicked an eyebrow at Reno. "I'm concerned."

"I'm okay now," Reno said softly, his voiced muffled from the blanket. Rude was not convinced. The only thing keeping him awake was curiosity and the fact that he had to know what happened to Reno.

"What about your hand?" Rude inquired suspiciously.

"I said I'm fine, I jus' need sleep, yo."

"Reno, please," Rude begged with disappointment. His brow creased in concern for his friend and he stared into his dull eyes.

"Tired," Reno croaked drunkenly, averting his gaze from his concerned partner. His breathing slowed and Rude gave up with an agitated sigh. He rose from the couch and gave Reno one last look.

"What am I going to do with you, Reno?" Rude murmured. Reno was fast asleep.

* * *

Rude shot up, glaring out at the blinding rays of light creeping through his tiny window. Groaning, he shaded his eyes with his hand. He was shocked to see that he had slept through the night. The Turk couldn't remember falling asleep - he must have passed out the second he hit his firm pillow. Rude stretched and groaned as his eyes adjusted to his bright surroundings. With a blink, memories of the uncomfortably tired night before rushed through him. Rude tightened his jaw and paced out of his room, hoping to find and interrogate the mystery out of his weary partner.

Reno was found in almost the same place that he had fallen asleep. The boy was sprawled out in a terribly uncomfortable position, half on the couch and half on the floor. His blanket was tangled in every which way around him, indicating a restless night. He snorted loudly in his unconsciousness. Rude watched him with slight fascination, wondering how anyone could possibly sleep like that. He seemed to be sleeping soundly, so Rude did not wake him up. He tried not to make too much noise, lacking knowlege on how light of a sleeper Reno was. Being a Turk, he assumed that he would wake up at the round of a toothpick snapping, but then again, it was _Reno_.

Rude could tell that Reno really needed the sleep. Reno stirred and flailed his arm out, grumbling something incomprehensive. Rude stopped, thinking that the boy had woken up, but he was clearly still deep in sleep. He wandered into his kitchen and made breakfast for himself: a piece of toast with plenty of butter and a glass of milk. It wasn't much, but Rude was not too fond of breakfast. He made the same thing for Reno, not really caring if he would like it or not. If Reno didn't like toast, then he would bitch about it for ages and Rude would never hear the end of it. Sighing, he took a sip of his cold milk. He then remembered how disoriented Reno had been and came to the slightly disturbing conclusion that he was, for the time being, a different Reno than before. In a bad way. Needless to say, he might be at Reno's mercy if he did not like the breakfast because of this.

It was about time Reno told him what had happened. Rude's patience was running short; he was concerned about his friend. He wondered if he would have to beat someone up. Blinking tiredly, Rude walked over to his restlessly sleeping partner. "Reno," Rude called quietly. Reno didn't respond. "Reno," Rude said more defiantly.

Rude pressed his freezing glass of milk to Reno's tender face. Reno swatted lazily and cracked his eyes open in disgruntled disturbance. "Good, you're awake," Rude said simply, backing away from his partner. Reno cursed under his breath and groaned tiredly, rolling over restlessly and slumping onto the floor more than he already had been. He sat upright on the cold floor and untangled the blanket from himself. "I made breakfast. You can only eat if you tell me what happened."

The red-head looked utterly confused. He stared blankly into space out of exhaustion. His glossy eyes slowly looked at Rude again. "Hm," he grunted. Reno's half-lidded eyes fluttered with exhaustion and he rested his head on the edge of the couch, smooshing his face against the cushion.

"Reno, wake up," Rude said, gently shaking the other's shoulders. He flinched slightly, making Rude release him. Reno groaned and pulled himself onto the couch clumsily, leaving the blanket to untangle from him at last and fall to the floor. "Can you tell me what happened now?" Rude sat next to Reno.

"News," Reno muttered, pretty eyes fighting to stay open. He did not feel awake.

Rude frowned. "The news is biased, Reno. I want you to tell me what happened."

"I'm biased, too, yo."

"Just tell me what happened. I'll kick you out of here and you'll get no breakfast if you don't. We have a deal, remember?"

"Well, it's good to see that you're back to your normal self now that it's morn'in," Reno sniffed tiredly. "You were pretty peeved last night, yo. But fine. You want th' short version or th' long version?" He crossed his arms and leaned his head back comfortably.

"I don't care."

"Alright then, short version it is. My house blew up."

"Wait, what?" Rude said in confusion.

"My house," Reno said strongly with a faint sing-song undertone. He used his hands for emphasis. "Blew up." Reno's hands flew away from what had been representing his house and shook wildly.

Rude blinked at Reno, comprehending the outlandish statement he just made. "Your going to have to expand on that a little more."

"Ya could've just asked for the long version, geez," Reno said, cracking an eye open to give Rude a look. "Actually, there really is no long version now that I think about it. That's really all there is to it – my house is currently in a mill'on pieces of flaming metal skattered throughout the area, yo."

Rude looked at him with uder confusion and wondered how Reno could be so nonchalant about such a thing. "How… the hell did that happen?" he asked, nearly stuttering. He was glad that he had caught himself from doing so, being so caught of guard from such a strange situation.

Reno rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Wish I could tell 'ya."

"You don't know?" Rude asked. His forehead creased. Reno slouched down into the couch again, staring forward in thoughtfulness. "Well, was there a bomb in your house? Did just your house blow up or did other houses blow up, too?"

"I dunno. Jus' blew up, yo."

Rude frowned. This was not good. "It looks to me like somebody wants you dead."

Reno laughed softly from his fatigue. "We're Turks, 'course people want us dead."

"They typically don't go _bombing our houses_, though. Someone must _really_ want you dead, Reno. I would be careful."

Reno shrugged and Rude sighed, not really knowing what to do about the situation. He brought Reno the toast he earned from the kitchen. Reno at first had eyed it hazily, but than accepted the food and began to eat it silently.

"Th' boss is gonna be pissed, yo," Reno said through his chewing, staring blankly at Rude's wall. Rude didn't reply. "He dos'n like us drawin' so much attention."

"You can stay here a while, Reno," Rude blurted suddenly, ignoring Reno's babbling. Reno stopped and stared at his partner with wide eyes.

"Woah really, man?"

Rude shrugged and twitched a small smile. "By the looks of it, your place has been blown to smithereens, so of course."

Reno grinned wildly. "Thanks, partner! I owe 'ya one," he exclaimed, feeling more awake and energetic. With his newfound energy, Reno scooted closer to Rude and flung his skinny arms around him, embracing him in a suffocating hug. Startled, Rude flinched and then blushed slightly and Reno's sudden expression.

"We're gonna be roommates, yo," Reno said with bubbly ambition once he released Rude. Rude cast his eyes downward and cracked a smile at his partner's enthusiasm.

"I guess so – just for a little while," Rude said calmly. It felt good to have Reno around.

* * *

**A/N:** Awwwwww! There you have it - our two favorite Turks, now roomies! :) I don't know why I wrote this, it just popped into my mind. I've been _dying_ to write something now that finals are over. I have anti-writers block right now - I seriously am overflowing with story ideas. It's a problem. I could cure people's writer's block just by looking at them right now.

Expect to see a lot of fan fiction from me this summer. I honestly have nothing better to do, it's pretty boring, haha. Be sure to review, it makes me happyyy. :D Peace, guys!


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